John Joseph Krol

His Eminence John Joseph Krol
Cardinal, Archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia
Ronald Reagan hosted the Cardinal in the Oval Office in 1981
See	Philadelphia
Appointed	February 11, 1961
Installed	March 22, 1961
Term ended	February 11, 1988
Predecessor	John Francis O'Hara
Successor	Anthony Bevilacqua
Other posts	Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria della Mercede e Sant'Adriano a Villa Albani
Orders
Ordination	February 20, 1937 by Joseph Schrembs
Consecration	July 11, 1953 by Amleto Giovanni Cicognani
Created Cardinal	June 26, 1967 by Paul VI
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1910-10-26)October 26, 1910 Cleveland, Ohio
Died	March 3, 1996(1996-03-03) (aged 85) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Previous post	Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland (1953–61)
Motto	DEUS REX MEUS (GOD IS MY KING)
Coat of arms

Styles of John Krol
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Philadelphia

John Joseph Krol (October 26, 1910 – March 3, 1996) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961 to 1988, having previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland (1953–61). He was created a cardinal in 1967.

Krol was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the fourth of eight children of John and Anna (née Pietruszka) Krol. His parents were Polish immigrants who were originally from the Tatra Mountains. Krol's father held various occupations, working as a machinist, barber, carpenter, plumber and electrician; his mother worked as a maid at a hotel in Cleveland. At age 2, he and his family returned to Poland, but returned to Cleveland within a year. Krol received his early education at the parochial school of St. Hyacinth Church. At age 9, he went to work part-time as a butcher's helper. He later worked as a maker of wooden boxes.

Krol attended Cathedral Latin High School, graduating at age 16 in 1927. He then took a job as a butcher at a Kroger grocery store in Cleveland, where he became manager of the meat department at age 18. Religious questions from a Lutheran co-worker prompted Krol to more deeply study Catholic theology and eventually decide to enter the priesthood. He began his studies at St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, Michigan. He later enrolled at St. Mary's Seminary in his native Cleveland. At St. Mary's, he also operated a small tobacco business, receiving shipments of defective cigars and then selling them to his fellow seminarians.